Transformers One

Story

Orion Pax (voice of Chris Hemsworth) and D-16 (Brian Tyree Henry) are cog-less co-workers in the underground caverns of Cybertron where they mine the elusive energy force ‘Energon. Energon flowed freely on the planet when the Primes were in power, but after they were killed the energy force stopped. Now the workers must go ever deeper to find it. Meanwhile, Sentinel (Jon Hamm), a trusted assistant of the Primes, continues to search for the Matrix of Leadership (an item that will restore power to their planet) while shouldering the responsibilities of Cybertron and basking in the adoration of all the citizens who worship him.

Unable to shake the sense that he has a different purpose in life, Orion Pax is determined to show the social-class obsessed dwellers of Cybertron that the miners, treated as second-class citizens or slaves, are just as capable as anyone born with the power to transform. When he and D-16 nearly win a race, they gain Sentinel’s notice and the admiration of every miner and cog-less citizen. A chance encounter with B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key) leads them to find a message from the Primes, along with a location at which they hope to find the Matrix of Leadership.

Orion Pax, D-16 and B-127, along with the unwitting help of a former miner called Elita-1 (Scarlett Johansson), head to the surface. There they discover the location of the Primes but also that they have been betrayed by the one they trusted most, and that he has robbed them of their birthright and is selling their hard-earned and increasingly precious Energon to their enemies. D-16 is filled with a rage he has never known before and wants nothing more than to take his revenge, while Orion Pax wants to free the people and fight the injustice that has been forced upon them before their enemies destroy them all.

Themes

War; deception; social-class prejudice; betrayal; revenge; greed; power

Violence

Transformers One has some violence. For example:

One character punches another in the face, saying, ‘I’m gonna smash you!’
Two guards are smashed in the face by a grate.
Orion Pax falls through the sky, bashes into flying vehicles and buildings, and crashes into a bar.
There is an explosion in a mine and a tunnel collapses around various miners. Orion Pax saves one that is nearly crushed.
A transformer is punched in the face and head.
Previous devastating attacks against the inhabitants of a city are repeatedly mentioned, as are the deaths of the Primes.
Characters are shot at in a race.
Characters get hit, kicked and blasted apart, and some nearly fall off the ledge during a race.
One character throws Orion Pax and D-16 in the trash.
One character says that he wants to kill another character and later that, ‘I want him to suffer and die in the darkness.’
Soldiers shoot at an old, injured Prime who transforms into an animal and attacks the soldiers by biting them in half.
A spider-like transformer attacks another, stabbing him repeatedly in the chest.
Characters try to transform but they are shot and chased, eventually blasting into the creature shooting at them.
A Prime is stabbed in the chest after a knife is held to his throat.
A bunch of characters are suddenly shot and electrocuted, while others are held at gunpoint.
D-16 head-butts a rebel leader. They punch, pound, slam, kick and try to kill one another with a gun.
There are massive explosions as a rebel base is attacked.
There is a gun battle during which robots explode and are killed or crash to the ground.
Sentinel admits to killing the Primes.
Sentinel brands D-16 with a Megatron image, burning it into the metal of his chest, as D-16 screams.
D-16 is nearly shot in the head.
A transformer discovers he has sword hands. He beheads characters and slices them in half.
D-16 shoots at Pax, punches him in the face and then accidentally shoots him through the chest.
D-16 shoves Sentinel off the stage and tries to kill him.
D-16 rips Sentinel in half with his bare hands.
D-16 tries to destroy a city and all of Sentinel’s followers.
Optimus Prime and D-16 fight each other, punching, shooting and smashing each other as they blast each other backwards.
D-16’s gun arm is sliced through and rendered useless before he and the Decepticons are banished.
B-127 accidentally stabs 2 of his fake robot friends with his sword hands.

Sexual references

There are no sexual references in Transformers One.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Transformers One has some substance use. For example, ‘Energon’ is served at a bar.

Nudity and sexual activity

There’s no nudity and sexual activity in Transformers One.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in Transformers One.

Coarse language

Transformers One has some coarse language. For example, ‘bad-arse-atron’, ‘Holy Primus’ and ‘shut up’. Insults include ‘rust buckets’, ‘idiots’, ‘traitor’, ‘stupid’, ‘pathetic little twits’, and ‘incompetent lackies’. Crude behaviour includes Orion Pax starting to put up his middle finger at a superior robot.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Transformers One is an animated fantasy adventure and a prequel to the Transformers movies. Set before Optimus Prime and Megatron existed, audiences will learn how these main characters came to be created. Due to frequent violence, themes and scary characters the movie is best suited to viewers over 10 years.

These are the main messages from Transformers One:

We shouldn’t be defined by our appearance, but by the way we live our lives.
Some transformations are permanent.
To be in control of our own destiny, we must continue to fight injustice.

Values in Transformers One that you could reinforce with your children include determination, bravery, loyalty, optimism, unity and honour.

Transformers One could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like these:

Holding on to anger and resentment and refusing to forgive.
Subjugating others for the sake of personal gain.
Deceiving or betraying those who look up to you or those who trust you.
Believing that you are better than others and treating them as second-class citizens.